While the West heralds China’s recent announcement to ban shark fin soup at government banquets as a success, social media sites in China are abuzz with skepticism. Users of China’s popular microblogging platform Weibo scoffed at the news, especially since the ban could still be three years away. According to AsiaOne, the announcement was mocked on Chinese social media sites as a timid step by leaders who are out of touch with the people:

“Given the way Chinese civil servants eat, in three years you won’t need to enforce this ban; the shark fin will be all gone.”

AsiaOne also noted that China’s “growing wealth gap has caused social tension”. The populations of some shark species have been decimated by more than 90 percent over the past few decades, and experts estimate that between 70 and 100 million sharks are massacred annually — mostly for shark fin soup.